<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Martin,<div><br></div><div>Your column inspired me to write this:</div><div><br></div><div><div>To both better balance the increased, possibly "monolithic", power -- potentially disrupting of Regional government -- of a likely amalgamated K/W and to give this general area bigger innovative clout ("bigger splash") in the World. why not look forward to a new larger but very innovative municipal concept/form that displaces Waterloo Region and includes: WR, Guelph/Wellington, Stratford/Perth, Woodstock/Oxford and Brantford/Brant -- we already have many academic and/or business connections with them. It could be called (using the very valuable <b>Waterloo brand</b>) the very unique, <b>Waterloo Network, Ontario,</b> "Canada's Innovative Metacity". To maintain the variety/diversity necessary to manage a very complex new hybrid city, the city, township and county councils would be maintained, with a new Grand River(?) County (council composed of all township councillors to best represent WR township interests) and powers/responsibilities of counties held jointly with (e,g, planning) or allocated to (e.g. policing) the new meta city, Waterloo Network. (And <b>Balsillie's hockey team</b> could called the <b>Waterloo Network Innovators</b>.) Mailing addresses might (optionally?) take the possible form. </div><div><br></div><div>Best wishes,</div><div>Robert</div><div><br></div><div>PS: You may have some thoughts on this first part of my latest report/article about my LRT system design proposal --the rest of which is mostly finished:</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Grand River LINE: World-class pioneering innovation for light rail transit success</span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="1"><br></font></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 9px; "><b>Innovator's Credo</b>: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; ">“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.</span><span style="font-size: 10px; "> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; ">Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.</span><span style="font-size: 10px; "> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; ">Begin it now.” Goethe,</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 9px; "><a href="http://www.winstonbrill.com/bril001/html/article_index/articles/251-300/article281_body.htm">http://www.winstonbrill.com/bril001/html/article_index/articles/251-300/article281_body.htm</a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><div><div><div></div></div></div></span></b></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="1"><br></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="1"><b>Imagination's Power</b>: "Imagination is more important than knowledge. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 9px; line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 9px; ">For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create." Albert Einstein</span></span></span></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-family: verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 9px; line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 9px; "><a href="http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_imagination.html">http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_imagination.html</a></span></span></span></span></font></div><div style="font-size: 11px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="1"><br></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="1"><b>Design Principle</b>: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; ">Ephemeralization -- </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 9px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">"Doing more with less" R. Buckminster <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 9px; ">Fuller <a href="http://www.natlogic.com/resources/publications/new-bottom-line/new-bottom-line-volume-5-1996/new-bottom-line-volume-56-a-cyclical-materials-economy-what-goes-around-comes-aroundor-does-it/">http://www.natlogic.com/resources/publications/new-bottom-line/new-bottom-line-volume-5-1996/new-bottom-line-volume-56-a-cyclical-materials-economy-what-goes-around-comes-aroundor-does-it/</a></span></span></span></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="1"><br></font></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>"Invest in smart infrastructure" was one of 10 goals suggested by University of Waterloo President David Johnston to enable Waterloo Region become the Knowledge Capital of Canada. And he reminded us that we have a long "tradition of working collaboratively to accomplish" great community goals. Similarly, the Regional Municipality -- led by Chair Ken Seiling -- invited the community to collaborate in its "barn raising" Rapid Transit Initiative project.</div><div><br></div><div>Realizing that a much more innovatively designed light rail transit system (LRT) could be a keystone part of a World-class "smart infrastructure", I accepted the open invitation to collaborate. </div><div><br></div><div>A local digital entrepreneur said, <b>why not</b> apply to the LRT system design the innovation benchmark set by the University of Waterloo of being many times more innovative than any other University in Canada. Such a high expectation could help inspire the creation of a dramatically improved LRT design? We could then realize an LRT system with much more value for much less money -- a possible cost-effective World exemplar!</div><div><br></div><div><div>Also, given their great shortage of investment funds -- and with similar LRT funding requests</div><div>from at least Ottawa and Hamilton -- the Federal and Provincial Governments may very</div><div>much appreciate an exemplary more cost-effective LRT system design proposal from the Regional Government. </div><div><br></div><div>But such an enhanced design would be especially favoured if it did more than just saving all participants many investment $ -- mostly tax $ -- and creating more value in the LRT system. If it also created much more indirect value -- and not disvalue -- for academia, businesses, community and tourism, it could thereby generate extensively more tax returns at all levels!</div><div><br></div></div><div>Framed by the name/concept of Grand River LINE, much knowledge had to be acquired so as to help imagine specific ways that the Region's current LRT system design could be enhanced. This was done by integrating innovative &/or smart technologies such as Intelligent Transportation Systems. After many, many imaginative iterations, this report/article is an attempt to describe the tentative results of that effort.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><b>Collaborative World-class Innovation</b></div><div><br></div><div>Already-knowledgeable citizens may wish to collaborate by imagining complementary -- or competing -- LRT system design enhancements. Also, many citizens can critically imagine in their own minds how an LRT system with the suggested enhancements might be built and operate. </div><div><br></div><div>The greatest challenge might be to imagine ways that the LRT/bus experience can best serve a car driver who is free of the responsibility of controlling their car. For example, are there ways that the LRT/bus experience can use -- in a relaxed manner -- new media technologies to help re-vitalize both our curiousity about the World and our creative imaginations (say via participative edutainment)?</div><div> </div><div>There is little doubt that the most technologically innovative area in Canada, the greater Waterloo Region, has the potential to engage effectively in such social/technological innovation as implied by Johnston's urging us to "be as good in social innovation as it is in technical innovation." We could help create a World-exemplary LRT system design. </div><div><br></div><div>Etc.</div><div><br></div></div><div><br></div></div></body></html>